Cranberry Sauce: My best Recipe

05.10.2017Julia

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In Tirol, fall is the season to pick “Granten” (cranberries) and to make them into homemade, fresh, fruity cranberry sauce. Here’s a classic, simple and easy recipe for making delicious cranberry sauce from scratch. At this time of year, cranberries are absolutely perfect with venison.

Do you like cranberry sauce? My family just can’t get enough of it. To us, no staple of Austrian cuisine, such as Kaiserschmarrn and Wiener Schnitzel is complete without a side of sweet, tart cranberry sauce. Moreover, it finds its way to every corner of our dinner plates because it pairs so well with fish fingers, apple fritters and stuffed beef rolls. To have as much of this delicious sauce as we want, I asked my favourite neighbour and rent-a-granny for her best cranberry sauce recipe. If you’ve never tried a homemade version, you’re in for a wonderful surprise. I can say, hands down, this is the best tasting cranberry sauce I have ever had—and I’m still amazed just how simple this homemade cranberry sauce is to make!

Cranberries and sugar are mixed in a ratio of 4:3. To yield 6-8 jars of cranberry jam you need the following

Ingredients

· 1000g fresh cranberries
· 750g sugar
· Water

How to Make It

· Rinse cranberries
· Combine the wet cranberries with sugar and let stand overnight
· In a saucepan, bring slowly to a boil over medium-high
· Stir constantly and increase heat until the cranberries have burst
· Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, remove from heat and skim off foam
· Test the jelly for the gel point and add a few tablespoons water to thin stiff jam if needed
· Quickly fill the hot jam into sterile jars and place them upside down to cool

Good to Know

If you do not want to skim off foam, remove pan from heat and let jam cool for a few minutes. Most of the foam will vanish and the remaining foam can be stirred in. Then, bring to a full, rolling boil for 2 minutes and quickly pour into sterilised jars.

Variations

Sugar may be substituted for non-nutritive sweeteners such as Xylitol; however, the sweetening power of Xylitol may be lost within 3 to 4 weeks so it is recommended to make a smaller batch of cranberry sauce.

Some people like adding lemon juice or vanilla for added flavour. However, you do not need to—it will be the best tasting cranberry sauce you have ever tried anyway :-)

A brave mom to two wild boys, Julia König explores the great outdoors with her family in tow. Ready to attempt new challenges and explore new adventure playgrounds, she provides inspiration, travel tips, and destination reviews for families.